What makes Gaggan Anand, a cook from Calcutta, Asia’s best chef

Bangkok fine-dine Gaggan has topped the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list, again

For three consecutive years now, Bangkok fine-dine Gaggan has topped the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list. When the Indian restaurant, helmed by Kolkata-born Gaggan Anand, first opened in 2010, it was on a whim: too much alcohol and zero job satisfaction. But since then, the 38-year-old has stuffed, foamed, vaporized and layered ingredients to put Indian cuisine on the global map like never before. It’s his version of modern/fusion, called Progressive Indian – a nod to the prog-rock he played in another lifetime – that takes the theatrics of molecular gastronomy to the next level (he single-handedly made the ‘liquid sphere’ mainstream). The menu, entirely in emoji, while difficult to decipher, serves up inspired combinations (foie gras on papdi with red onion chutney) plated in the most artistic ways (tandoor lamb that looks like a rangoli). But the chef believes he’s close to his peak and will be shutting shop after a decade long run, in 2020, to open a 10-seater, weekend-only eatery in Fukuoka, Japan. (Quit while you’re on top, right?). So now more than ever, it’s a can’t-miss spot on your next Bangkok trip.